9
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
I N D I A N A D A I LY S T U D E N T | M O N D AY, F E B . 3 , 2 0 1 4 | I D S N E W S . C O M
SPORTS
EDITORS: ANDY WITTRY, ALDEN WOODS & SAM BEISHUIZEN | SPORTS@IDSNEWS.COM
What a deal!
WING IT MONDAY NIGHT Have our delicious wings and your choice of sauce for only
40
¢
each
Offer good with purchase of drink. 1428 E. Third St. | motherbearspizza.com | 812-332-4495
PHOTOS BY CAITLIN O’HARA | IDS
Jessica Parratto practices a back one and a half with one and a half twists off the five-meter platform Jan. 27 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. Parratto is on track to compete in the qualifications for the Summer 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janero, Brazil. She finished 9th in the Olympic Trials for London in 2012 when she was 17.
THE ART of
BY MICHAEL MAJCHROWICZ mmajchro@indiana.edu
The diver climbs the stairs to the top of the tower, bracing for the three-story leap. She’s trained most of her life in this sport. But every time she ascends, the buried fear remains. She reaches the platform, buries her face into her hands and disappears into her thoughts. Thirty-three feet above the water, she scans her surroundings. Her pool, on her campus. In the diver’s mind, her training center in Bloomington transforms into the Olympic arena in Rio de Janeiro, where she hopes to compete in 2016. The three-time national champion sees herself standing on the tower before the judges. In her head, the announcer calls her name over the loud speaker. “Jessica Parratto.” The diver steps to the end of the platform, looks forward and opens her arms wide, counting down. With one swift motion, she’s airborne, leaping into a reverse dive. She feels herself falling — flying — for three seconds. Parratto folds into a tight “V” shape reaching past her toes, then stretching for the blue surface. Her taut body pierces the water with a rip, like the sound of a paper sheet being torn in two. If she’s going to make it to Rio, every dive — every rip — counts. *** At Indiana, a university rich with Olympic history, the tower divers push themselves toward something they know cannot be attained: perfection. The summer Olympics are a mere two years away, close to no time at all for athletes like Parratto, 19, a freshman fighting to secure a bid in the 2016 games. Through the decades, more than a dozen IU divers have earned a place on the Olympic team. The walls behind the towers are covered in large posters, god-like images of former IU Olympians who loom over the divers as they train. The greats who flew from the same tower are here. Above the pool, the Olympic banner hangs high beside the American flag, a constant reminder of what’s at stake. Coach Drew Johansen stands near the water’s edge, assessing
FALLING
a diver flipping from the springboard. The pair of eyes tattooed on his right calf tell the divers that even when his back is turned, he’s still watching. Now 44 years old, Johansen’s life has revolved around this sport. As a diver at Arizona State University, his mentors — the people he looked up to most — were diving coaches. Even his wife is a twotime Olympic diver. Johansen coached the U.S. Olympic Team to four medals in London in 2012. If he retains the position come 2016, he’s hoping at least one of his IU divers will be there with him. He molds his coaching around the psyches of each of his divers. On the tower, divers surrender apprehension, placing their trust in the coach who put them up there. Their relationship builds a little each day. “It takes a while,” Johansen says, “especially when you’re telling these kids to do things that are quite literally terrifying.” Otherwise, hesitation leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to injuries. It’s hard not to feel intimidated looking down from the top of the 10-meter tower. When descending toward the water at about 30 miles per hour, perfect execution is crucial. A faulty takeoff from the diving tower can be dangerous, even deadly. Thirty-one years ago, during the World University Games, a 21-year-old Soviet diver hit his head after he failed to clear enough space between his body and the tower. He slipped into a week-long coma and died of his injuries. Five years later, an Australian diver was killed during practice when he, too, failed to clear the tower during takeoff — smashing his head on the platform, then crashing into the water below. All divers, says Coach Johansen, face fear every time they climb the tower. Even Olympic champions. “It’s how they use that fear that determines whether they can perform or not,” says the coach. “It’s a constant part of this sport.” Fear isn’t the only constant. Habit and ritual keep the divers disciplined, which creates consistency. The athletes adapt. Throughout their training, the tower divers practice the art of illusion. While in competition, judges SEE DIVE, PAGE 10
TOP Conor Murphy, Kate Hillman and Parratto laugh about something that happened the weekend before after practice Jan. 27 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. MIDDLE Parratto approaches the ten meter diving tower during afternoon practice Jan. 15 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The center is plastered with posters of past IU Olympians, including the poster pictured here of swimmer Jim Montgomery, who won three gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal. BOTTOM Head Coach Drew Johansen critiques Murphy’s dive and offers advice for his next round during the Hoosiers’ meet against University of Lousiville on Jan. 31 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.